Stalking the Prey
by thedustoflife
Summary: High School AU and kind of OOC. Madge Undersee is a quirky high school student whose world comes crashing down when she hears her crush, one Gale Hawthorne, tell her best friend that she's a stalker-ish creep. Disillusioned with Gale, Madge undergoes a self-invoked makeover, both physically and emotionally, and resolves to forget him. Until... Gadge and Everlark
1. Chapter 1

"She's creepy," Gale told Katniss before first period. They were outside her locker at the intersection of the A-wing and the B-wing. "I feel like every time I happen to look at her, she's staring at me."

"Maybe you're imagining it? I see both of you everyday and I've never noticed it."

Gale scoffed. "And you're the most observant person all of a sudden? Mellark practically drooled over you for years and you never realized he liked you until he asked you out. Anyways, _I_ think she's a creep, what with her weird school-marmy-meets-lolita sense of style. Could you maybe tell her to stop? Or that I'm not interested? Just thinking about her eyes gives me chills." Gale mock-shivered and Katniss frowned at Gale's comment about Madge's style. Sure she was a junior in high school who wore her hair in perfect ringlets tied with a ribbon. Sure she wore poofy knee-length tutu-like skirts. Sure she liked to wear turtlenecks and pearl-buttoned cardigans with said tutu skirts. Madge's style was…unique, and Katniss loved Madge for it. It was part of what made Madge, well Madge. Gale rubbed his face tiredly. "Please, Katniss?"

She sighed.

"I guess I could drop a hint or something, but I really don't think she likes you like that anyway."

"Well, I think she does, and I don't want her to. It's uncomfortable how she's always so cheery and eager when we talk."

Katniss scowled at Gale's snubs and was about to reprimand him when the warning bell rang. She quickly said goodbye to Gale and headed towards her next class. As she turned the corner, she saw a familiar blonde ringlet-ed poofy-skirt-wearing figure scurrying away.

"Madge!" Katniss called. Madge didn't turn around. "Wait up, Madge!" Katniss jogged to catch up with her. When Madge finally turned around, her face was flushed and her eyes were watery.

"Madge! What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Madge answered quickly, her voice but higher than usual. "I think I'm getting seasonal allergies or something." She swiped at her eyes. "I'm just gonna run to the bathroom really quick. See you at lunch?" She ran off before Katniss could even respond.

"Was that Madge?" Katniss's boyfriend, Peeta Mellark, appeared as Katniss watched Madge's retreating back. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

"Yeah. I'm not really sure what's happened, but she seems off." Katniss paused for a beat."You don't think Madge has a thing for Gale, do you?"

"No,"

Katniss breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm _sure_ Madge has a thing for Gale."

"What?" Katniss exclaimed. "How do you know? Did she tell you?"

"Well," Peeta began. "Have you seen the way she looks at him? She kinda reminds me of myself sometimes, all those years I spent watching you from afar when you didn't even know I existed…" Katniss shoved Peeta's arm away from her shoulders and turned to stare at him, eyes round as saucers.

"Oh crap."

"What?"

"She heard us."

"Who?"

"Me and Gale. He told me he thought she was creepy and made fun of the way she dressed. He told me to tell her he wasn't interested." Katniss smacked her forehead and groaned. "I'm so stupid! I never even noticed! I'm a terrible friend."

Peeta patted her arm. "There there. You're not stupid, just oblivious."

Katniss groaned again and went to go look for Madge in the bathroom.

-00000000000000000-

Madge felt her tears slowly subside as she sat in a stall in the girls bathroom. The more she thought about it, the less sad and the more frustrated she became.

Gale Hawthorne was an ass. An ass who had dreamy gray eyes and looked like he belonged in a freaking shampoo commercial. As she sat in that stall in the second floor B-wing girls bathroom, Madge wanted nothing more than to slap that lazy smirk off Gale's beautiful face.

Who was he to insult her clothes? Call her a creep? This was a free country: she could look at who she wanted.

But that was just it. Madge _didn't_ want to stare. Somehow, her eyes were just _drawn_ to Gale, like protons attracted to his negativity. Literally. In the years she had been friends with Katniss, Gale had never said one nice thing to her. Sure, he also hadn't been mean outright, but he was always coldly taciturn, borderline pugnacious. She wasn't even sure why she liked him.

Madge laughed a little at her own silliness and helped herself to a generous ribbon of toilet paper. She blew her nose noisily and stood up. He didn't deserve her attention anyway.

As Madge emerged from the stall, Katniss entered the bathroom. She hurled herself at Madge, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm so sorry! I should have known-don't worry about him, Madge, he's an idiot."

"It's okay. After all, I didn't tell you." Madge stood stiffly in Katniss's arms.

"What's wrong?" Katniss asked, pulling away to look at Madge. "You're mad, aren't you?"

Madge laughed. "No, I just haven't washed my hands yet."

"Who cares?" Katniss paused. "You didn't actually use the bathroom, though, right?"

"No...but I did blow my nose." Katniss sighed and hugged Madge again.

"Whatever. I can deal with some Madge-snot." The two girls giggled and Madge hugged Katniss back

"I'm going to pummel Gale to a pulp later,"

"Don't," Madge whispered. "I don't want him to know."

-0000000000000000-

Gale peered warily into the cafeteria. He searched the crowd of students for those familiar blue eyes that were always watching his every move. Surprisingly, Madge was nowhere to be found. Katniss wasn't there either, he noted with dismay.

It wasn't that he still liked her, or at least he didn't think so. He no longer felt like punching Peeta when he saw them together. He would even go so far as to admit, albeit reluctantly, that Peeta was a nice guy. Nowadays, Katniss was more like a younger sister and a friend that he wanted to keep an eye on. Figuring that Katniss was off somewhere with Madge or with Peeta, he took his lunch tray and strode over to his friends.

"Sup, bro," Thom grinned as Gale sat down. "I see your little fan isn't here today." Gale groaned.

"Don't remind me. I asked Katniss to help me out, so I hope that's the end of it. It's _weird_." Thom's smile grew.

"I wouldn't mind having a pretty girl like Madge Undersee stare at me. So what if she's a bit old-fashioned? It's cute."

"Ugh, please. You don't know what it feels like to be under constant surveillance. I'm telling you, she isn't normal." Gale took a bite of his hoagie.

"So you'd be okay with it if I asked her to Winter Formal after break?" Thom blurted out suddenly. Gale nearly choked on his food.

"Madge? Undersee?" he asked incredulously. He shook his head. "If you're into stalkers-in-the-making, go ahead. I don't know why you're even asking me."

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, but Gale had an unsettled feeling at the pit of his stomach.

Eh, it was probably just the school's wonky lunch meat.


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss sat at the mall food court reading fanfiction on her phone while waiting for Madge to arrive. The mall was overrun by holiday shoppers and students on winter break. Katniss had begged Madge to go to Winter Formal because she hated the thought of Madge being down and alone while she was out having a good time with Peeta. After a lot of wheedling and effuse insistence that she wouldn't be a third wheel, Katniss had convinced Madge to go. Katniss just hoped that they would find dresses for Winter Formal quickly, because she hated shopping almost as much as she hated malls.

"Hey Katniss," Madge said a bit breathlessly. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're fine." Katniss replied, sticking her phone in her pocket. "Where do you wanna start?"

Madge suggested a nearby department store, and Katniss agreed. Katniss was on a budget and did not want to spend a fortune on a gown from a specialty boutique. She wondered why Madge, the wealthy mayor's daughter, wanted to shop there. She soon forgot the matter as they stepped into the dress section, overwhelmed by the seemingly endless choices. Gowns of every length, style, and color hung from shiny metal bars, surrounded by the smell of overly strong perfume mixed with the desperation of girls doing last-minute dress shopping.

Surprisingly, she and Madge found dresses they liked within an hour. Katniss chose a long gown that reminded her of fire. It was figure-hugging with a cut-in high neckline and made of a slinky crimson material. Madge chose a short silver dress with a sweetheart neckline and several gauzy petticoats. Katniss was a bit surprised at Madge's choice. It certainly wasn't scandalous, but it showed much more skin than any of Madge's other clothes and was decidedly less frilly.

As they stood in line to check out, Katniss noticed Madge fidgeting.

"I want to change my image," Madge blurted suddenly. She looked at Katniss "I don't want to be that weird girl who looks like a creepy china doll anymore." Madge stared at the floor. "Will you help me?"

Katniss paused. The line inched along, but she stayed where she was.

"Why?" she asked slowly. "For Gale?"

After a moment, Madge shook her head.

"At first I entertained grandiose plans of winning Gale's affections and then rejecting him. Publicly." Katniss snorted and Madge's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "But that just isn't realistic. I think I'm ready for a change, to try something new. I mean, your teen years are the time to experiment, aren't they? To discover who you are?"

Katniss surveyed Madge's pleading expression warily.

"Well, as long as it's what _you_ want, I'm in."

They paid for their dresses and headed to other parts of the department store. Neither of them really knew what was "in," so Katniss helped Madge undress mannequins to try on the outfits they displayed. She even braved entering the cosmetics section with Madge, where the salesgirl, sensing their fear and panic at the innumerable shades of brown eyeshadow, had helped them pick basic makeup supplies. As she and Madge watched makeup tutorials online, brand-new makeup in hand, Katniss pondered the life's greatest mysteries, such as exactly what purpose skin-colored eyeshadow served.

-00000000000000000-

Now was the winter of Gale's discontent. He had spent winter break relaxing, sleeping in and playing video games. Rested and refreshed, Gale had returned to South Panem High School only to be greeted by a big fat D on his last test in first period Spanish class.

"But Señora! How can this be possible? Is there anything I can do to raise my grade? Like an extra credit project or something?" he had exclaimed, but his protestations fell upon deaf, or rather, unwilling, ears.

"Lo siento, no entiendo inglés," Señora Lopez had responded, frustrating Gale further. He repeated his question in Spanish, but she simply told him to study more for the next test. Now what would he do? His near-perfect GPA would be ruined if he got a low grade is Spanish. He had worked too hard all throughout high school to sacrifice his GPA now, in the second quarter of his senior year.

So Gale found himself at the library, signing up for a student tutor. He couldn't afford to pay for a tutor, and the student tutors at South Panem High were required to be juniors or seniors ranked at the top of their class, so he figured it was the next best thing.

"Excuse me?" Gale asked Ms. Trinket, the librarian and advisor of the tutoring club. "Do you have the tutoring sign up sheet?"

"Of course, dearie! Here you are." She produced a sheet of paper with a table on it from her brightly colored paisley-printed folder and slid over the counter to Gale. He scanned the page.

The table was organized with the names of tutors and the subjects that they taught going down one side and time slots across the other. Gale scanned the list, looking for the AP Spanish tutor.

Oh.

It was her. Madge Creepersee. How the hell was she the AP Spanish tutor? She was a blond-haired blue-eyed _junior_ who, as far as he knew, had lived in Panem all her life. Gale cringed as he thought of Madge's unblinking gaze and eerily enthusiastic tone. He really didn't want to deal with that, but as he weighed his options he realized he'd just have to suck it up and deal. Spending time with a girl who had a slightly unsettling crush on him was worth maintaining his GPA. Quickly, before he could think too much, Gale scrawled his name into a box and left the library.

Now if only Wednesday would never come.

-0000000000000000-

She heard whispers all around her.

"Have you seen Madge?"

"She looks so much better!"

"Why the sudden change?"

"I love her hair."

South Panem High School was quite a large school, but when the town mayor's nondescript (though somewhat strange) daughter showed up dressed to the nines, the school took note.

Madge had chosen her best I-look-great-without-really-trying outfit for the first day back from break. She wore dark-washed skinny jeans tucked into ankle high boots with a wine red handkerchief-hem knit top. Since it was January, she wore a new fur-trimmed navy blue parka over the entire ensemble. Gone were her perfectly coiffed ringlets, and in their place were soft, tousled waves. Sparkly champagne eyeshadow dusted her lids and her lips were painted a reddish mauve. People loved the new glam-Madge, and she wondered why she hadn't made the change earlier.

Granted, she had put in a lot of effort to achieve her effortless look, but Madge was willing to wake up an hour earlier to get this type of response. People she hadn't spoken to since elementary school greeted her in the hallways. Her friends showered her with compliments. Boys (who had never even noticed her before) actually looked at her. Madge wasn't quite used to all the attention, but her confidence level was through the roof and she was thoroughly enjoying it. Her newfound confidence led her to venture (a bit) out of her comfort zone and offer her opinions in class or strike up a conversation with a classmate whom she had never talked to before.

At the end of what had been a very good day, Madge stood at her locker packing up. As she shoved notebooks and textbooks into her bag, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a rather nervous-looking Thom. He glanced at her, quickly, and seemed surprised.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else. I'll just go-" he began to walk off.

"Wait! Thom! Who are you looking for?" Thom turned back around, and stared, looking even more surprised.

"Madge?" he exclaimed incredulously. "You look different." Madge raised an eyebrow. "I mean, not bad different, good different. I can't believe I didn't recognize you." He grinned crookedly. "You. I mean, I was looking for you."

"Oh." Madge was stumped. Why was Thom looking for her? They had been friendly acquaintances ever since they had been lab partners in biology class last year, but they hadn't really talked much beyond pleasantries and hellos.

"I was just wondering if you would, would go to Winter Formal with me?" He blushed, running a hand through his short dark hair and pushing up his glasses. Madge was stared at him open-mouthed. This had never happened to her before,and she didn't know what to say or do. Thom began to fidget nervously. "U-unless you already have date or if you don't want to go with me-"

"Of course," she interrupted.

"Oh." Thom looked crestfallen. Madge realized how he could have misunderstood and rushed to correct herself.

"Of course I'll go with you, not of course I don't want to, silly," Madge couldn't help but smile when she saw the grin erupt on his face. "You don't mind if we double with Katniss and Peeta, do you?"

"Nah, they're cool." Thom and Madge continued to chat and catch up while they walked. When they reached the entrance near the student parking lot, Thom waved goodbye and headed towards his car. Madge continued walking. She was going to be picked up by her father's secretary today. As she made her way to the main entrance, she saw a familiar flashily dressed figure.

"Hi, Ms. Trinket!" Ms. Trinket turned around and smiled, hobbling over to Madge in her six-inch hot pink stilettos.

"Hello, Madge! Why, don't you look pretty today! Heading home?"

"Actually, I'm going straight to a piano lesson."

"Really? Then I won't keep you long. I just made copies of this month's tutoring calendar. Here's a copy now so I don't forget to give you one later." Ms. Trinket fished a stack of papers out of her large turquoise tote bag and handed Madge a sheet. "A new student signed up for Spanish tutoring today. He'll be coming in on Wednesday."

Madge glanced down at the schedule and saw with horror the name that had been scribbled into the Wednesday box.

Gale Hawthorne.


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss sighed, poring over her physics textbook that was open on the counter before her. One minute the book warned her of the perils of forgetting to consider friction and the next it insisted that friction didn't exist. Her head was beginning to swim when the bell on the door jingled.

"Hi, welcome to The Ho-oh hey Peeta," Katniss was working a shift at her part-time job as a cashier at The Hob. It was a cheap pizza place run by her neighbor, an old lady whom everyone addressed as "Aunt Sae." Peeta often came to visit her while she was at work. Although most employers would frown upon Peeta's frequent visits, Aunt Sae was delighted by Peeta's friendly demeanor and by the amount of pizza he bought each time he came.

"Hey, Aunt Sae," he called, smiling broadly at the old woman in the kitchen before sidling up to the counter.

"Hi, _Katniss_ ," he began, making a big show of squinting at her nametag. "I'll have two large slices of pepperoni and a medium fountain drink," he said, making a show of fishing his wallet out of his pocket. Katniss rang up his order.

"Do you want any sides? We have french fries, onion rings, tater tots…" she trailed off.

"As a matter of fact, I think...I'll take a side of you too." Peeta wore a goofy grin and leaned over the counter towards her. She pushed his waiting lips away disgustedly, a half smile and a blush adorning her face. Aunt Sae chuckled a low gravelly laugh as Peeta sighed loudly and began to count his money.

"Aw, Katniss, show the poor boy some love, won't ya?" Aunt Sae yelled from the kitchen.

"He's no poor boy, Aunt Sae; after all he spends at least five dollars on your pizza almost everyday." Aunt Sae chuckled harder at that, and Katniss put Peeta's money into the cash register. She then grabbed the spatula and unceremoniously plonked two slices of pepperoni pizza on a plate. "Here," she said holding out the plate and an empty cup. He took them and placed them on a nearby table, before coming back to the counter.

"Now what?" Katniss demanded, continuing their banter.

"Actually Katniss, I have something to tell you." Peeta started quietly, the goofy grin replaced with a grim expression. "You know how my mom left us five years ago, right?" Katniss nodded. She had never met the former Mrs. Mellark, but she remembered seeing the woman at school events. Her own mother was absent-minded and occasionally unintentionally neglectful, but Mrs. Mellark was much worse. According to Peeta, she was prone to violent mood swings. "Well, she's back."

"What? With you? Why?" Peeta grimaced.

"She's not staying with us at the house, but apparently she had some revelation while she was gone and wants to be a better mother to us."

"Isn't that… good? What's the catch?" Katniss frowned, concerned.

"Ah. That's exactly it. There is a catch. She wants to fight Dad for custody."

Katniss' breath caught. "There's no way she'd win. She walked out on you guys. She would probably revert back to her old self seconds after she took you guys home with her." She grabbed Peeta's hand.

"I know," Peeta sighed, smiling a bit at their clasped hands. "Dad is doing a great job, and we have a steady income coming in from the bakery. Hank and Sam are legal adults already, so I'm the only minor, and I'm old enough to tell a judge who I want to live with." Peeta looked up at her. "I'm just gonna have to go down to the capital a lot to talk to social workers and such. You might not see much of me for the next few weeks, and I didn't want you to worry." Suddenly, the bell on the door tinkled.

"Katniss, you won't _believe_ what happened to me today." Madge walked into the Hob a bit breathlessly. "Oh hi Peeta. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Nah, you're fine," Peeta said, smiling easily. "What happened to you?"

"Oh! I have a date to Winter Formal!" Madge proceeded to tell Katniss and Peeta what had happened to her. As Madge was telling Katniss about tutoring Gale, Katniss's phone rang loudly.

"Hello? Prim?" She paused, listening to her sister. She turned to look at Peeta and Madge. "I'm really sorry, but can either of you pick Prim, Posy, and Vick up from school? Their after school activities were cancelled." Katniss's eyes widened as she remembered that Gale was working and that Rory had basketball practice. "They also need some kind of supervision until around six."

"I can,"

"No problem,"

Madge and Peeta looked at each other for a second. Peeta cleared his throat. "Why don't we go together? I don't think either one of us can handle three elementary school kids by ourselves anyway."

"Okay." Madge agreed, nodding. "Your car or my car?"

"I took the bus here, so your car." Madge and Peeta put on their coats. Katniss watched her friends bundle up, and felt incredibly lucky to have them.

"Thanks so much guys, I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything. Friends don't keep score on favors," Madge grinned. "Let me go get my car so Doughboy here doesn't have to freeze walking through the parking lot." Peeta swatted at her arm, and she left laughing.

"Really, thank you, Peeta," Katniss said again. "And don't worry about your mom. Everything is going to work out just fine." Peeta smiled at her. A horn beeped from outside the shop. Peeta turned to go, but Katniss caught his wrist. Leaning over the counter, she gave him a quick kiss.

"There you go, Katniss!" came a raspy voice from the kitchen.

"Aunt Sae!" Katniss exclaimed, her face growing warm. Peeta laughed as he waved, already halfway out the door.

-00000000000000000000000-

 _Posy, Vick, + Prim r Peeta's house. Their activities were cancelled. Pick Posy + Vick up by 6._

Katniss had texted him a few hours ago. He just finished his shift at the local grocery store, so he had about ten minutes to get to Peeta's house. He pulled out his phone and entered the address Katniss had sent him into Google maps. After studying his map, he hopped into his beat-up lemon which he had affectionately named Old Bessie, and headed down the road.

Peeta's house was cute cookie-cutter house surrounded by identical houses painted in different colors. Gale double checked the address before heading towards the front porch and ringing the doorbell.

"Hey Gale," Peeta said, opening the door. "Come on in."

Gale followed Peeta into his house. It wasn't large, but it was nice, with glossy hardwood floors and a renovated kitchen. Peeta lead him through the kitchen into the living room, where Vick was drawing and Posy lay fast asleep on the couch.

"Thanks, Peeta." He leaned over to pick Posy up. "What happened to her hair?" Posy's normally straight brown hair had been twisted and braided into an elaborate updo, and small, loose curls framed her little face.

"Madge was here earlier. She helped me take care of the kids, but her family has some rule about being home by dinnertime so she left half an hour ago."

"Oh." Gale didn't know what else to say, so he scooped Posy up. "C'mon, Vick." Vick packed up his pencil case and followed Gale out.

After thanking Peeta again at his doorstep, Gale made his way to Old Bessie.

"Open the door for me, Vick," Gale placed Posy into her booster seat gently, trying not to wake her. As he fastened her seatbelt, she seemed to stir.

"Madge, come see...like a princess." She shifted uncomfortably and settled down again, her face cradled by the seatbelt. A small smile appeared on her face, and Gale's heart melted. Gale shut the door and Vick scrambled into the backseat. He got into the driver's seat and sighed.

Maybe he was a little harsh when he had said she was abnormal. But then the thought crossed his mind that maybe Madge was kind to Posy because she was trying to get to _him_.

Ugh, he sounded like a self-absorbed rubbed his jaw and shook his head before coaxing Old Bessie to life.


	4. Chapter 4

Madge stood outside the library doors. She'd been there for a few minutes, pacing and wringing her hands nervously. Peering in, she could see the back of Gale's head. He was sitting at her assigned table, at the far left corner of the library.

"Ah-hem." Madge turned around to see an annoyed-looking freshman tapping her foot. "Well? Are you going in or what?" Realizing that she had been pretty much pressing her face to the glass of the window in the library door, Madge hurriedly backed away and murmured her apologies. The freshman huffed irritably and entered the library.

 _Calm down, Madge_. She took a deep breath. _Why should he be any different from Billy?_ Billy was a wiry freshman whom she had tutored from the beginning of the school year until winter break. _He's Billy. Billy._ Madge blew out her breath and pushed open the library doors.

The doors creaked noisily and everyone turned to look at her. _Dammit,_ she cursed inwardly. _Too much force, Madge. You knew that you have to push slowly and gently to avoid the noise._ Madge ducked her head and hurried over to her table.

-00000000000000000000-

Gale pulled out his phone to check the time again. It was 2:45. School ended at 2:30, so Madge had already had fifteen minutes to get from her last class to the library. Gale's last class was English, up on the third floor, and he'd made it to the library by 2:36.

He was about to pack up and leave when he heard a loud groan break the quiet stillness of the library. He turned to watch as a blonde girl hurried through the doors, her long hair obscuring his view of her face. The girl was wearing jeans, not the telltale poofy skirt, so Gale turned back around and decided to wait five more minutes. He sighed and pushed an ear bud into one of his ears.

"Hey, Bil-Gale," Gale looked up to see the blonde girl setting her bag down on the table and pulling a chair next to his.

"Hi...Madge?" She nodded stiffly in response and turned to take her Spanish textbook and notes out of her bag. Gone were her frilly sweaters and poofy skirts. Her curly hair was sleek and smooth around her shoulders . She was wearing _jeans_ for crying out loud, and she looked kinda...pretty. Gale couldn't remember if he had ever seen her in jeans in the years he had known her. As she carelessly flung her things onto the table, a pile of loose papers flew out of her folder. He bent over to help collect her papers, and his hand grazed hers as they reached for the same paper. Instead of gazing moonily at him like she had in the past, she recoiled violently, yanking her hand back and rubbing it on her pants as if she had touched something dirty.

"It's fine, I can handle it. Just get your stuff out."

Gale frowned. Was Madge Creepersee looking down on him? Gale did what he was told and took his Spanish binder out of his bag.

Madge finished picking up her papers and took her seat. She still avoided making eye contact with him.

"So what do you need help with?"

"Subjunctive. I just don't know when to use it. Señora didn't explain it very clearly." Finally, Madge looked at him.

"Oh, weirdos!" She smiled eagerly.

"Excuse me?" Unless she was talking about herself, Gale had no clue what she meant.

"It's a really handy acronym for using the subjunctive. You see, _W_ stands for wishes, desires, and imperatives. _E_ stands for emotions. _I_ stands for-" Madge relaxed and became more enthusiastic as she explained. She made up a few example sentences for him before urging him to try his homework worksheet. "I'm going to read my book while you work on that. Feel free to ask me any questions." She pulled out a huge tome from her bag and set it heavily on the table. Gale blew out a low whistle.

"Woah. That book is _monstrous_."

"It's _Anna Karenina_. I have to finish it by Friday. Rosenberg barely gave us any notice at all."

"Rosenberg?" Gale made a face. "I had him last year. He was really nice, but he always forgot to tell us about assignments and ended up giving us, like, one day to write full essays."

Madge chuckled while murmuring her agreement, and Gale smiled a little in return. Their eyes met for a heartbeat before Madge once again averted her eyes.

"You should do your worksheet now," she said tersely to the ceiling. Gale shrugged and picked up his pencil. What was _her_ problem? The rest of the session passed in interludes of pencil-scratching and page-fluttering, punctuated with quiet questions and brief answers. Rather than thinking herself superior, Gale got the impression that Madge didn't want to talk to him. She answered him patiently, but never tried to make conversation. She would explain something to him and immediately return to her book. When the arrival of the late buses was announced, Madge sprung out of her seat, packed up, and hightailed it out of the library without so much as a backward glance.

Gale felt rather insulted and very confused. Was that the same girl who had practically (and one time actually had) drooled over him before winter break? Why was she suddenly ignoring him? What had he ever done to her? If anything, _he_ should be the one ignoring _her_. The more he thought about it, the more indignant he became.

Well, if that was how things were going to be, two could play that game.

-0000000000000000000000000-

 **A/N** This chapter gave me a lot of trouble...I hope it turned out okay.

Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! Feel free to leave more!


	5. Chapter 5

"I don't know what to do. We just don't have anything in common."

Katniss and Madge sat at their usual table in the cafeteria. Katniss watched as Madge swirled the peaches around her fruit cup with her spoon. "We got along really well last year, but now that we don't have classes together it's really awkward. He just keeps bringing up stuff that happened last year."

"Well, have you guys talked about any topics other than school? Maybe Thom likes video games too?"

"I thought he might, but he once told me in passing how lame he thought his friend was for holing up in his room and playing video games all the time." Madge replied miserably. Katniss watched as she scooped a limp peach into her mouth. She could tell Madge was worried about Winter Formal. It was only a week and a half away, and Thom was not turning out to be the date Madge had hoped he'd be. Sweet, bespectacled Thom was a good-natured and pretty good-looking guy, but he and Madge just didn't seem to have anything in common. Beyond their shared interest in biology and distaste for dissections, they couldn't seem to find anything to talk about. He would bring up a T.V. show, but she would be unable to contribute to the conversation because it wasn't one that she followed. She would bring up a book she had read, and he would politely feign interest.

Katniss felt sorry for Madge, but her mind was more occupied by Peeta. A few weeks had passed since Peeta had told her about his mother. Since that day at the Hob, Katniss had barely seen Peeta. She worried about him. He had visited the capital a few times now, and each time he returned, he seemed a bit defeated, a bit more broken. She remembered the conversation they had had last time they met. As they sat beneath her favorite tree in the park, she had noticed the dark shadows beneath his eyes and the haggardness of his face. During this ordeal she tried to be there for him, but being comforting had never been her forte.

"I just don't know, Katniss," Peeta had propped his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands. He dragged his palms down his cheeks as he looked up at her. "She has a problem. Sometimes she's nice, and she bakes me cookies and tells me she loves me. But sometimes she's so cruel. She drinks until she's convinced that I'm my dad, and she screams and cries, asking me why I married her if I love someone else." Katniss pried his hands from his face and clasped them in her lap.

"Has she...you know?"

"Hit me?" Peeta's face twisted into something between a smile and a grimace. "She's...tried, but I'm much stronger now. It's just hard to stop her without hurting her. Being with her just makes reality blurry sometimes, you know? She can be two very different people. Sometimes, I have to just stop and ask myself what's real and what's not real."

Katniss frowned as she remembered this last part. What could she do to help him? Was making him talk about it helping him or hurting him? Maybe she could-

"Hiya, Katniss! And Madge!"

Gale strode up to their table, smiling brightly. He plopped his lunch tray on the table and sat down next to Madge on the bench so close that their elbows touched. Madge shrank away, inching to the left. Gale grinned even more widely and closed the gap, this time sitting so close that he was almost in her lap.

"Hi, Gale. So...what are you doing here?" Katniss looked from Gale to Madge to Gale again.

"Oh, just visiting good ol' Madge." Katniss raised an eyebrow. "And you, of course," he added defensively.

"I didn't realize you two had become such... _close_ friends." she said, staring pointedly at their proximity.

"We're not," Madge blurted hastily just as Gale proudly crowed, "We're besties!"

Katniss felt her eyebrow creep higher.

"What are you talking about, Maggie-pie?" He draped an arm around Madge's shoulders. Madge jerked away from his arm.

"Err...I just remembered I was supposed to meet Ms. Trinket about my tutoring schedule. Right now. Nice seeing you, Gale. Bye Katniss!" With that, Madge ducked below Gale's arm and sped-walked like a lifeguard in hurry out of the cafeteria.

Gale swiveled and stretched his legs out on the now empty bench.

Katniss sighed. "What are you doing, Gale?"

"What do you mean?" He pulled a soggy French fry off his tray and popped it into his mouth.

"You know what I mean."

"Oh, don't worry about my grades. I'm getting tutored to improve my Spanish grade. It's already beginning to rise. My GPA will remain intact. Whew!"

Katniss whacked him on the shoulder with her copy of _Death of a Salesman_.

"Ow! You don't have to kill me! I'm not a salesman: I just ring people up at Foodmart!" Katniss rolled her eyes as Gale rubbed his shoulder.

"Madge, you idiot, I want to know about Madge! And this is a paperback, you won't die, drama queen."

Gale looked down at his food and lowered his hand from his shoulder. "She just acted really...weirdly at tutoring yesterday." Katniss started to protest that he had always thought Madge behaved strangely, but he held up a hand to stop her. "No, she didn't stare at me as usual. Which was weird in itself, but I digress." He shook his head and gesticulated frustratedly. "I just got the feeling that she was looking down on me, that she didn't think I was good enough for her to even acknowledge." Gale looked, up at her then, and Katniss wanted to sternly tell him that he deserved it, but remembered her promise to Madge. "I just wanted to annoy her and to help her to get over herself." She sighed again.

"You know Madge isn't that kind of person. There isn't an arrogant bone in her body."

Gale frowned. "Why are you always on her side? I've been friends with you longer than Madge. Why can't you agree that Madge is a bipolar weirdo for once instead of making me feel like a dirt bag?" He threw his hands up in resignation. His eyes fell on Madge's fruit cup which, in her haste, she had left on the table, next to Katniss's carton of milk. "You gonna finish that?"

Before Katniss could respond, he had snatched the fruit cup and inhaled it's contents, looking rather pleased with himself. Katniss considered telling him he had eaten his nemesis's leftovers, but decided against it.

Besides, it was his own fault anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

That darned Gale Hawthorne! What the heck did he think he was doing? First he complained about her and wanted to get rid of her, and now that she was avoiding him, he stuck to her like glue! What right did he have to invade her personal bubble and accelerate her heart rate, just because he was a little bit (okay, a big bit) good-looking?

And her traitorous heart! Madge's stupid heart had jumped and worked double time as Gale crushed his left side against her right side. Madge, who had made her way to the bathroom, cupped some water in her hands and made to splash it on her heated cheeks. But then she remembered she was wearing makeup.

Madge let go of the water and turned off the sink. She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she shook her hands dry.

As annoying as it was, her new makeup and hair routine suited her well. And as much as she adored her lace and ribbons, this new style of clothing really did help her fit in better. Gale Hawthorne was handsome, but Madge was not too shabby herself.

Wait.

Why not let Gale experience what she had? She wouldn't do the classic "make-him-want-me-then-dump-him-publicly" stunt, no,no. She'd just...flirt with him a little, and when he'd taken the bait, she'd dangle him, like a fish on her line.

And then she'd never reel him in. She'd cut the line just as he had hers.

Hang on isn't that good for the fish? It gets to swim away with the food.

But fish bait is usually a bug or a worm. Gale Hawthorne was going to be sick after he ate Madge's worm.

Eww, that sounded wrong. Madge shook her head and gently slapped her cheeks. She had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Madge was no expert on boys. And neither was Katniss, despite the Peeta-Gale triangle thing of freshman year. Madge needed an expert. And she knew who to find.

"Delly, I need your help." It was Friday afternoon, the day after Madge had hatched her plan. Delly was Madge's childhood friend. Over the years they'd sort of drifted apart, going from practically inseparable to amiable more-than-acquaintances-less-than-friends who occasionally met to catch up. Madge had picked Delly up from cheerleading practice, and they had gone to their usual meeting place, a hipster cafe in town. Now they were sitting in a corner booth sharing a plate of pita chips and kale guacamole.

"With what?" Delly puckered her lips and smiled at herself before snapping her makeup compact close to look at Madge. "I'll do anything, within reason of course." She smiled and looked at Madge expectantly.

"So there's this guy-" Before she could continue, Delly let out a very dolphin-esque squeal.

"Madgey's finally looking at boys! Oh my goodness, spill! Who is he?"

"-and I kinda want to get him to like me." Madge finished. "You, er, wouldn't know him, he's not in our grade," seeing Delly's frown, Madge knew she wouldn't let her off so easily. Madge tried again."He, erm, he doesn't go to our school." Delly's frown deepened.

"Fine, don't tell me; I'll find out eventually, once you land this guy!" Delly squealed again and erupted into giggles.

"Are you done?" Madge couldn't help but smile and Delly's near delirious laughter. But she did want to learn her secrets.

"Okay, okay, the first step is confidence. When you walk into a room, you think 'I'm a ten. All the guys here would be lucky to bang me.'"

"Delly!" Madge felt her cheeks heat up. Delly laughed again.

"I'm serious about the confidence thing. But you better get your pencil and paper out now, because I'm about to tell you the Delly-Cartwright Method to Getting the Guy."

Madge sighed and got out her notebook. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Gale was at a party.

It was a normal party, with loud music, dancing, and beer-pong. He was (mostly) sober, and he was currently dancing with a very pretty girl named Joanna who said she was from a town a few miles away. He didn't know how drunk she was, but some of things she said were kind of insane. And violent. Oh well, she was pretty.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp as the front door opened letting a gust of icy wind in. Gale looked to the door in annoyance. His jaw came close to hitting the floor.

 _Legs_ was all he registered as Madge freakin' Undersee walked into the house wearing a short black dress. What was Little Miss Perfect doing at a party?

"Hey." He felt sweaty hands clap onto his face and drag it down. "Loog-ah-meeee, boo'ful," Okay, Joanna was definitely wasted. While he was looking at Madge, she had somehow procured a bottle of vodka, and was now sipping it directly from the bottle. She cringed as the alcohol went down and let out a satisfied _Ahhhhhhhh._ Then she burped.

Gale felt obligated to take the bottle away from her. As he pried her fingers off it, she gave him the death glare. When he finally got it out of her vise-like grip, she growled at him and shoved him before storming away.

Gale stumbled a few feet back into something squishy and warm. He noticed it was also blonde and Madge-like as they tumbled to the floor together.

The fall wasn't like in those romance movies when the guy sticks out his arms at the right moment and they end up staring into each other's eyes intimately without a single scrape.

Nope, Gale went barreling right into her, with her cushioning his fall.

"Undersee, I'm so sorry," Gale mumbled hastily as he brushed himself off and offered a hand to help her up. She grabbed his hand without looking at him, and he pulled her up.

They were close, too close. She smelled good, like strawberries and laundry detergent. She looked up at him, and those round creeper eyes suddenly didn't seem so creepy. She quickly looked away.

"Okay." she said and practically ran away.

Okay? What type of response was that? Not even "it's okay?" So Undersee didn't think he was even worth forming a complete subject-verb sentence for?

Hmmph, she really did need to get over herself. And Gale Hawthorne, the heartthrob of South Panem High School knew just how to do it. He started to follow her.

Just call him Don Juan.

* * *

 **AN: I think the story is going to focus more on Gadge from now on. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Oh crap_. Her plan to make Gale pay was off to one heck of a start. She sat on the front porch of the house, gently pounding her sore shoulders. Madge sighed and stared out into the night. Where had all the flirting techniques she had learned from Delly gone? She was supposed to be confident, and she had run away from him yet again.

But maybe it wasn't too late to salvage it? Madge wracked her brain desperately. Ah. Madge had left Gale, and by leaving Gale, she had left him wondering, rule number three in the Delly Cartwright methodology. Granted, she hadn't exactly been seductive or mysterious before leaving him, but leaving was leaving right? Besides there _had_ been some skin contact involved...Madge laughed somewhat deliriously.

"Hey Madge," Madge jumped as Gale sat down beside her on the porch, much closer than was necessary in her opinion. "Are you alright? You took the fall harder than I did."

"I-I'm fine," Madge looked at him looked away quickly. She laughed nervously. "How are you?"

"I'm fine because you broke my fall."

Gale studied her, and Madge squirmed under his gray stare. She laughed again. "Really I'm perfectly alright." There was silence.

"Let me go get you some ice" Gale said suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"I saw you hitting your shoulders when I came out here. You should ice them."

"No!" Madge panicked a little. But then she pictured Delly's disapproving frown. "I mean, no thanks, they really don't hurt anymore at all." She slapped herself on the back to prove her point, and cringed as she hit herself right in her sore spot.

Gale sighed and tsked. He got up and left. He returned in a few minutes with a plastic bag of ice and a paper towel. He kneeled behind Madge. He began sweeping her hair out of the way. "If you're hurt just say so."

Madge cursed her heart as it fluttered at his touch. Normally, she'd have moved away quickly and assured him she was really fine. But man-getting rule number one was that all non-creepy (Madge had protested that that term was far too subjective , but Delly had insisted it was quite obvious what was and wasn't creepy) skin-contact and proximity was good.

And the ice felt pretty damn good after that fall.

* * *

Gale walked home from the party that night. It'd been his plan to begin with, since he knew he'd be drinking, but it also gave him a chance to think. And strategize. He looked down at his hands as he walked, remembering how soft Madge's hair had been, and how good she'd smelled, and-

That was beside the point. What he really wanted to figure out was what he was going to do next. They'd parted on amicable terms, or at least more amicable than they'd ever been before. She had actually looked him in the eye and flashed him a small smile as she waved and left with Katniss.

 _I guess I'll make my next move at the dance._ He decided as he wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself and turned onto his street.

* * *

Katniss sat impatiently as Madge gently dusted sparkly eye shadow onto her lids.

"Done yet?" she asked irritably, opening her eyes and turning to look at the mirror.

"No, and if you keep moving, it's gonna take even longer." Madge huffed, swiveling Katniss back to face her. Madge had become something of a makeup guru after her transformation. Hours of poring over magazines and watching Youtube tutorials combined with natural artistic talent resulted in a new makeup-savvy Madge. Katniss was happy enough to just wear concealer and foundation to the winter formal, but new Madge wouldn't allow it.

So here she was, at Madge's house, wondering how exactly one removes false eyelashes. Madge had already done her own makeup before Katniss arrived, and she looked like a fairy princess in sweatpants (she hadn't changed yet). Katniss couldn't help but smile watching Madge flit around, thinking that the pink girly makeup was like a nod to Madge's old over-the-top school-marmy lolita style. It was nice to see that Madge hadn't abandoned the stuff she liked.

"Okay...I think that's it. Go like this for me." Madge rubbed her lips together and Katniss mimicked the motion. "Perfect!" Madge clapped her hands gleefully. "You look absolutely stunning."

Katniss finally got a good look at herself in the mirror. Madge had achieved a subtle smokey eye and had finished it off with a dark red lip that complemented her dress. The overall look was glamorous, yet not overly bold.

"Wow," Katniss turned her face this way and that admiring Madge's handywork. "It looks great, thanks, Madge."

Madge preened and smiled smugly. "I _am_ good at this stuff now, aren't I?" she said, flipping her hair dramatically. Katniss laughed and shoved her playfully. Madge's face turned serious as she asked, "How's Peeta? I haven't seen him in forever."

Katniss sighed. "He's just been in the capitol a lot lately dealing with his mother. I think the issue's gonna be resolved soon, but he's just tired and kinda down."

"Oh...well I guess we'll just have to make sure he has a good time tonight!" Madge said brightly trying to lighten the mood. She began to put away her makeup brushes and palettes. As she bustled about, Katniss remembered that she had forgotten to tell Madge something.

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you earlier, but we're going to meet Gale and his date at his house to take pictures before we go."

"Oh." Madge froze a little and turned to look at Katniss.

"Who's his date?"

"Delly Cartwright."


	8. Chapter 8

_Oh crap_. Her plan to make Gale pay was off to one heck of a start. Madge sighed. Where had all the flirting techniques she had learned from Delly gone? She was supposed to be confident, and she had run away from him yet again. Her most recent interaction had been anything but seductive, and had accomplished nothing but giving her a sore bottom and a bruised elbow.

Madge closed her eyes and took a deep breath. From her perch on the back porch of the house, the music and chaos of the party was nothing but a muffled thumping bass. _Why did I even think I could do this in the first place?_ She opened her eyes and released the breath in a frustrated sigh.

"Finding that parties aren't really your thing, Undersee?" Madge jumped at the sound of Gale's voice. He came over and sat down next to her, close enough that she could feel his body heat radiating off his legs, but not so close that they were actually touching. She smelled the sharp scent of alcohol as he spoke.

"It helps if you're not so sober," he handed her a red solo cup. Madge accepted it warily. She felt him watch as she simply cradled the cup in her lap, not taking a sip.

"It's just sprite and vodka, nothing too strong. I didn't put anything in it, look," He reached over and took the cup from her and took a gulp of the concoction. He replaced the cup next her. "Totally fine."

"I didn't think you put anything in it, Gale, I just….don't want to have anything at the moment." Gale looked bit confused, before realization seemed to wash over him.

"Oh, God, I didn't mean to pressure you to drink or anything, crap," He ran his hand over his jaw. "Recently, I just can't seem to do anything right when I'm around you, Undersee." He looked up sheepishly at her, and she felt her stupid traitor of a heart skip a beat. "I'm really sorry about earlier. And about harassing you and Katniss at lunch." He smiled that crooked grin she had always reminded her of Danny Zuko in _Grease_. "Forgive me?"

In that moment he looked so innocent and repentant, so cute yet unbelievably sexy, that Madge almost forgot about what she had heard him say to Katniss not too long ago.

Almost.

 _She's a creep, just thinking about her eyes gives me chills. I'm not interested._ Madge's anger at his going behind her back to Katniss, while treating her in a friendly manner to her face boiled back to the surface. If he had been so unsettled for so long as he claimed, why couldn't he have told her to her face? Sure it would have hurt her feelings at the time, but it wouldn't have made her feel like such a fool, pining after a guy who considered her a creepy borderline stalker. Why was he apologizing now, now that she was "normal" in his eyes? Nope, no matter how cute and genuine he looked now, Madge was not ready to forgive and forget.

She was a politician's daughter, not a saint.

So Madge pasted on her best politician's smile and pushed her shoulders back.

"It's totally fine. It was mostly that girl you were dancing with's fault anyways." Gale cringed at the mention of the girl. Madge wondered why for a heartbeat before suddenly she was on her feet, enveloped in Gale's arms. His shirt smelled of alcohol and sweat. It was kind of gross, but just as quickly, Gale backed away, his hands on her shoulders holding her at arm's length.

"Great. I'm glad we've cleared it up. Friends?"

"Um...yeah?" Gale must have been more inebriated than she had thought since he didn't seem to notice the question in her response. He grinned brightly at her and released her shoulders.

"I'm gonna head back in. Come find me again later, we should dance!" He jogged back into the house, towards the thumping bass.

Madge grabbed the drink that Gale had left, stupefied. She took a sip and nearly choked. The vodka was nothing like the wine that her parents allowed her to have with dinner on special occasions. It smelled like sprite-scented glass cleaner and burned down her throat. But it made her feel pleasantly tingly and warm, and she hesitantly took another sip.

Her mind was almost as traitorous as her heart, since she couldn't help but think about how she and Gale had shared an indirect kiss.

* * *

Katniss arrived at the party slightly after Madge, since she had dropped Madge off before looking for a place to park along the crowded neighborhood street. When she got into the house, the party had been raging, but Madge was nowhere to be found.

Figuring that she wouldn't be able to hear her phone anyways, Katniss texted her, hoping that Madge would check her phone soon. Madge wasn't a wild one so Katniss wasn't too worried yet.

"Katniss!" Katniss turned around to see Bristel, Finnick, and Annie. They talked and danced for a while. But, when Katniss next looked down at her phone, she saw that nearly an hour had passed and Madge had not texted her back.

"Ok guys, it's been great catching up with you all, but I need to go make sure my friend's alright," the three of them made noises of agreement and waved goodbye as Katniss turned away to more carefully scan the crowd.

She retreated to the kitchen where things were quieter, but there was no sign of Madge. She ventured back into the family room and was about to panic, when a flash of blonde hair caught her eye.

Katniss drew closer to the blonde haired girl. _Yup, she's wearing a black dress_ , she thought as she got a bit closer. _Oh my God she's drunk_ , Katniss thought as she heard Madge's thunderously high-pitched laughter over the music. Madge was dancing with a dark-haired guy, if you could call their out-of-sync thrashing dancing. Katniss saw the guy reach out and grab Madge's waist, pulling her close to him, and saw Madge drunkenly loop her arms around his neck, laughing hysterically the whole time.

Katniss pushed the remaining people between her and Madge aside and roughly pulled Madge away from the guy.

"KAAAATTNIIIIISSSSS!" Madge squealed, throwing her arms around Katniss. "YOU'RE HERE! I LOVE YOUuuUuU!" Katniss gently pried Madge off her and finally got a good look at the guy.

"Gale?" Katniss could not believe her eyes.

"Hi, Catnip," Gale waved a bit, but then used his other hand to put his waving hand down. _Yup, they're both drunk_.

"I think it's time I took you both home...Gale how'd you get here?"

"I don't _wanna_ go home yet." Madge pouted and wrapped herself around Gale's arm and buried her head in his shoulder. "Gale tell Katniss to let me stay."

Gale smiled goofily at Madge and said "Let Madge stay 10 more minutes? Pretty please?" Madge giggled.

Katniss rolled her eyes. If they could see themselves now. "Gale. How did you get here?"

"Thom gave me a ride."

"THOM!" Madge jerked away from Gale. "Thom is SO NICE. I LOVE Thom. He asked me to formal! Where is Thom?" Gale frowned.

"Where is Thom now Gale?" Katniss was losing her patience.

"I think he took Delly home a bit ago?"

"WHAT?" Madge pouted. Gale's frown deepened. "I wanted to say hi."

"Okay, then you're both coming with me and we're leaving now." Katniss had had enough so she grabbed Madge and gave Gale a _you'd-better-follow-me-out-of-here_ look. She managed to shove both of them into the backseat of her car, and she headed towards Gale's house.

When she pulled up in Gale's driveway, Gale and Madge had quieted down. Madge was no longer giggling and instead looked quite sad. Gale just looked sleepy.

"Oh. This is my house." He said as he registered what was outside the window. "I guess I gotta go."

Katniss heard quiet snivelling from the backseat. _What now?_

"Don't leave me! I'm sorry!" Madge wailed.

"Sorry for what?" Gale said.

"I'm sorry!"

Gale laughed and grabbed Madge's face. _Oh no,_ Katniss thought. She cringed as Gale planted a slobbery kiss on Madge's forehead.

"Don't worry; I'll see you!" Madge nodded ruefully, tears still streaming down her face as Gale stumbled to his front door.

Finally, Katniss pulled up in front of the Undersee home. She stopped the engine and got out of the car. Madge was half out of the car by the time she walked around to help her.

"Woah, easy there," Katniss said as Madge pitched forward before regaining her balance. Madge smiled at her and patted her on the head.

"I'm fiiinnnneee." She smiled and wobbled to her front door. She pulled out her keys and fumbled with the lock. Katniss grabbed the keys from her and opened the door.

"Thanks," she smiled loopily as she walked into her house. Katniss remembered that Madge had said that her parents were out of town for the weekend, so she followed Madge in and up to her room. Once Madge was safely in bed, Katniss headed out to her car.

A lot had happened between Madge and Gale, just during the time Katniss had taken care of them. Katniss didn't want to think about what might have happened when she wasn't there, and she didn't want to think about what tonight would mean to Madge or to Gale. No matter how she looked at it, things were about to get even messier than they already were.

Hopefully neither of them would remember much of what had happened in the morning.


End file.
